Luke Falk NFL Draft Profile

Luke Falk NFL Draft Profile
Luke Falk NFL Draft Profile

Luke Falk– Quarterback

School: Washington State University

Class: Senior

Height: 6’4″

Weight: 225 pounds

Luke Falk NFL Draft Profile

A highly productive college QB in an air raid system at Washington State, Falk is a developmental prospect. Mike Leach’s system has Falk throw the ball 60 times a game and he barely took snaps from under center. Falk is a two-time member of the All-Pac 12 team and is the conference’s all-time leader in passing yards, 14,481, and touchdowns, 119.

Falk is a highly intelligent quarterback who has plenty of experience at the college level and is able to make all the throws. His interception numbers are a little inflated because of his system, but he needs to improve at identifying and throwing against zone coverage.

Arm strength isn’t Falk’s strong point, but in the right system with the right coaching staff, he could be a serviceable NFL starter. His production should be enough to push him into the conversation to be selected on Day 2, with the potential to sit behind a veteran quarterback before being handed the reins.

Upside

Intelligence

Falk has the ability to thrive in an NFL offense because of his high football IQ. That will help him learn any pro system without any problems. He proved to be an excellent decision maker when given time in the pocket. Falk also excels at looking off the high safety.

Accuracy

Falk is an incredibly accurate quarterback, as he also holds the Pac-12’s all-time completion percentage record, 68.3 percent. He is able to throw the ball over the field, can hit receivers in stride and attacks man-coverage with excellent ball placement. Falk excels at throwing fade routes and deep outs. He can still throw accurate passes while being knocked off balance and is always able to maintain an excellent spiral. He always maintains his incredible release that rivals some of the NFL’s best

Production/Experience

Many quarterbacks could be productive throwing the ball as many times a game as Falk did but it’s another thing to rewrite the conference’s passing record book in every category. That shouldn’t be overlooked come draft day and teams should understand that college QBs don’t often get as many reps as Falk did. He can use that experience to help an NFL offense as he learns more about the pro game.

Downside

Arm Strength

While incredibly accurate, Falk doesn’t have the strongest arm. Nearly 74 percent of his passing attempts came from inside of 10 yards. This isn’t something that’s going to be able to be fixed in the pros and it could rule out teams who don’t run a West Coast system. When he does throw it down the field, he has a tendency to do it when he’s pressured and off balanced.

Field Vision

Falk was sacked 125 times during his college career and a good bunch of those are on him. He is very slow at identifying blitzes and he has trouble completing his progressions. Falk has a tendency to lead receivers into heavy traffic and he threw most of his interceptions against zone-coverage.

System

Coming out of an Air Raid system there will be questions if Falk can produce outside of it. Leach didn’t make him take snaps under center, or hand the ball off very often. The most attempts and yards a running back mustered while Falk was a starter was 107 for 610 yards. By the way, that was during 2015, Falk’s first full year as a starter. Falk will have to truly readjust himself to fit an NFL system before a team will give him a shot as a starter.

Overview

Numbers don’t lie, and Falk knows how to put them up. With the intelligence he has as a quarterback, those numbers can transfer to the NFL level. In the right system, with the right staff, Falk could have a long pro career. When he learns how to read zone-coverage, he’ll be a serviceable, middle of the road QB.

NFL Player Comparison

Chad Pennington

Teams With Need at Quarterback

Cleveland Browns, Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, New York Jets

Projection

New England Patriots